History of Grant County, Wisconsin, Part 73

Author: Butterfield, Consul Willshire, 1824-1899
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Chicago : Western Historical Co.
Number of Pages: 1044

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"It was forty years ago," says Judge J. T. Mills, in an address delivered a few years ago, " that I stood at the foot of the lower rapids. They came to me, or I to them. No difference, we got together. I occupied the same site then that the city of Quincy does now. You might have carried the embryo burg in a wheelbarrow, if you could find one. There was a block-house on the bank, and here, some mining adventurers and myself waited for steam navigation. The voyage forty years ago required a large reserve of patience. Often we put our ears down to the water as if the steamer was expected underneath the surface, for ' suckers' were more numerous than any other passengers in those days. I well remember one day, while repeating this acoustic experiment, I heard a thumping like a heart-beat in the water, and soon, to my inexpressible sat- isfaction, I saw a smoke 'way down de ribber.' Puff, puff, the discharge of a blunderbuss, the ringing of a bell-no steam-whistle then-and the stout, strong-built steamer ' Warrior,' Capt. Throckmorton, landed on the shore. The mining adventurers rushed aboard and threatened to take possession of the vessel. 'On to Dubuque ; ' 'Forward to Snake;' ' Hurrah for Hard- scrabble ; ' were watchwords yelled as vociferously as ' On to Richmond !' years later, by the New York Tribune. But what was the appearance of the Great West in 1834, as seen from the Father and yet child of many waters ? Illinois above Rock River, with slight exceptions, was

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HISTORY OF GRANT COUNTY.

wholly vacant. The State of Iowa had not even been christened. The owl hooted from the forests that covered its bottoms or crowned its beadlands.

'The wolf's long howl from Onalaska's shore Was heard above the troubled water's roar.'

" If Thomas Campbell could make poetry out of this long howl, his muse would have been rampant had he tried this voyage. These devil-eyed, white-teethed denizens of the forest, amused us with their nightly serenade whether we hissed or applauded.

" And still the wide prairies on either hand seemed opening to receive the immense and teeming population destined to supplant nature's hushandry by that of civilized man. The very soil, the streams and the woods which skirted them, seemed conscious, setting up of nights and watching by day for the ' coming events that cast their shadows before.' The bear, the elk and the deer, heard all too frequently the crack of the backwoodsman's rifle. He was trespassing on the domain of the Winnebago, Sac and Sioux. The Great Spirit had packed up his airy wig- wam, converted it into a balloon and sailed westward, beckoning his children to follow ; hard-fisted miners, men of ' mighty bone and bold enterprise,' had built their tenements of sod, palisades and mud at different places. Galena, Neptune-like, had reared her awful head above the mud in which she floundered, and was visible to a considerable distance. Patches of corn and potatoes showed that a race of men were pressing into this region, who could work the surface of mother earth as well as, gopher-like, burrow in her bowels. These were the scattering drops, the earn- est of that human flood that has swollen into millions, rolling westward on foot, on horses, on wheels, till the locomotive and thundering train behind commands the highway to California : has changed the frontage of the continent, has completed the American section of the thorough fare that encircles the globe, and changed the direction of commerce. All this since 1834."

L ong howl " was heard only too often by the early inhabitant, as the loss of many a fine porker or fat ewe bore testimony. Dogs were secured, kept and fed, to protect their master's property from these depredations, but in the majority of cases the owner awoke when too late, to find that he "had been hugging a fond delusion to his breast," as his much- vaunted guardian of the flock was found "gayly gamboling " with the foe he was expected to destroy. A good wolf-dog forty years ago was almost literally worth his weight in gold. Wolves when caught were often partially disabled, and then turned over to the dogs by the settlers, in order to accustom the latter to the sight of their foe, and many were the disappointed looks that crossed weather-beaten countenances as it was found that "Tige " or " Watch " would, instead of boldly attacking, drop their caudal appendage and incontinently quit the field. One of these wolf-fights which has become historical, is given below by an active participant in the scene :

GRAHAM'S WOLF-FIGHT.

" I don't remember the year. [It was 1838 .- ED.] We didn't take any account of time when we ranged at will over these fenceless prairies. We didn't cut the year into weeks and Sundays, but took it as it came. It was about the first court; Harvey Pepper was Sheriff; Judge Dunn was on the bench; I was Foreman of the jury ; old yellow-black Paul was plaintiff; and Col. Jones, who went to Congress, and perched himself on top of Sinsinawil Mound-he was the defendant. Jones owned Paul down in Kentucky, and when Paul got on the mound he quarreled with his master and became obstreperous, and Jones drove him off. Ile then went through the country fiddling at what they called 'stag dances.' Females then were scarce and very dear and hard to get, so the boys would dance alone on the sod floor, and Paul would ' fiddle ' for his whisky, and when he ran too far ont of knees and elbows he would go back to Jones and saw wood, and Jones would supply him with old clothes. After some years, Paul concluded, as courts and lawyers had made their appearance, he would sue his old master for wages, and have a final settlement in this free country. We heard the evidence. The yel- low darkey hadn't a hit of proof in support of his claim, but eleven of the jurors went in steep for the plaintiff, contending if Paul recovered wages it would make him a free man. I asserted

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HISTORY OF GRANT COUNTY.

he was free any way-wages or no wages-that we were sworn to go according to law. Some of the jurors said, 'D -- n the law ; when it comes in one door, justice runs out the other.' Pep- per, the Sheriff, locked us up, and, to make the purgatory complete, said he was sworn to allow us no meat or drink except water.

" Imprisoned in this ten-by-nine cell, we quarreled long and loud. I stood out for the defend- ant against the eleven who were determined that Paul should be paid for our 'shin-dig' music, and that Jones was the man to do it. He got appropriations from Congress. I told my eleven. brethren I was used to starving, and would die at my post rather than violate the law. They talked of fighting but I was ready there.

"We should have hung there until this time, probably, but for a couple of huge, gray, tim- ber wolves, that old ' Wolf-catcher Graham,' had brought into the town plat, securely caged in his wagon. Everybody then attended conrt, and everybody brought his dogs. The old wolf- catcher set up a loud cry, saying he would let out a wolf against all the dogs in creation, if the people who desired the sport would pay him $20 each for his wolves, and allow him the scalps. The money was raised quicker than you could count it. We would have almost paid the national. debt to see a wolf-fight. The first wolf-and he was an old settler, I tell you-was let loose in the yard, right under our window. We ran to it, and climbed on each other's shoulders. Such snapping, barking, growling and bristling you never heard or saw. Dogs and wolf were- piled up almost to the upper story, in a living, biting, snapping, rolling, tumbling and boiling mass. Some of the dogs were thrown hors du combat, but others took their place. The revolv- ing mass turned round the corner where we couldn't see them, and then my eleven associates cried : 'For heaven's sake, Free, do agree, so we can get out of this cursed hole and see the fun.'

""Boys,' said I, ' I have been raised with wolves. I won't budge an inch for any arguments- dogs and wolves can furnish.'

"' Well, Free, just say that Jones shall pay $1, and we will come down to that.'

"' Never a cent.'

" We heard the uproarious laughter and shouts of the outside world. It was too much for the hoys. The friends of poor yellow Paul yielded, and cried out : " We agree ; write out the verdict, Free.'

"I wrote out the verdict for the defendant; but lo! we were in a worse condition than ever. The Judge, Sheriff and all hands had gone to the entertainment. No time was to be lost .. A chair was picked up-a window smashed-and, as Judge Dunn heard the glass come jingling to the ground, he screamed ' Pepper ! Pepper ! let those men out, they will tear down the court house !

" These words sounded like the trump of jubilee. We handed our verdict to the Sheriff, and rushed down stairs like a flock of frightened sheep when the dogs are after them.

" But the scene of the fight had changed. In the dog and wolf revolution, the latter actually entered the sacred halls of Pepper's tavern, where all our fair female population were gathered and gossiping. Such a scattering, screaming, fright, running-up stairs and jumping on beds was never seen or heard of. But the poor wolf, as if he understood the tenderness of the female heart, galloped up stairs too ; on the bed he jumped with tongue protruding, and, with beseeching looks, prayed for mercy. But up rushed the dogs dripping with blood; now mad with fury and blessed with victory, they scaled the parapet A universal and deafening hubbub ensued. Men rushed in with clubs, seizing a dog or two by the tail, and tossing them out of the window, and, sometimes punching the wolf, that by this time had learned that the generous dimensions of female apparel offered him the safest retreat. But, notwithstanding the poor wolf's surrender and meek behavior after he entered the forbidden halls, he was slain without mercy. There is not a living man, or woman, or animal, that witnessed that scene but if they are still alive remember it to this day. I am satisfied that jury never would have agreed in that case had it not been for Graham's wolf."

The hound was found to be the only breed of canine that could with certainty be depended an to pursue this terror of the forest to the death. He flew the black flag, neither giving nor

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HISTORY OF GRANT COUNTY.

asking quarter, and was proportionately prized. Aside from the gray and black timber wolves, and the prairie wolf, which was more stealthy and less dangerous than his larger brother, wild- cats and foxes were also extremely troublesome at times. Bears were met occasionally, and were seen in the northern portion of the county late in the fifties. At a very early period, both buffalo and elk roamed at will through the country, but this was anterior by many years to the date of the white man, although the horns of the elk were occasionally found by the early settlers. Deer, however, continued to be abundant until the severe winter of 1856, which did much to deplete their ranks. Wolves and wild-cats continue to be found, as many of our readers are aware, in the northern portion of the county, up to the present time.

PRIMITIVE AGRICULTURE.

Notwithstanding the fact that the thoughts of many were being turned at this date to agri- culture, the mining furor showed but little if any signs of abating. According to Mr. Ralph Carver, who died some years ago at Muscoda, the year 1833 witnessed a slight improvement in the mining imp'ements in the shape of cast-steel drills, which introduction is thus noticed by him in a letter read before the Old Settlers' Club : "Previous to the Black Hawk war, we miners used iron drills and gads with steel points, but in that year some Cornish miners came to Gratiot's Grove and introduced the inestimable poll-pick and cast-steel gad, but used iron drills with steel points. In the succeeding winter, James Gilmore, myself and others, were mining at Snake Hollow (Potosi). Our blacksmith, whose anvil was on a stump of a tree with no covering but the sky and clouds, was absent on a spree. Mr. Gilmore and myself wanted new steel on our drills. He said he could sharpen and temper tools, but could not weld cast-steel. He pro- posed we should get a bar of cast-steel and cut it in two, for each of us a drill, and he could sharpen and temper the ends. We got a square bar, as octagon bars were then unknown, beat down the corners, and had each of us an excellent drill, which I have every reason to believe were the first cast-steel drills ever used. They soon came into general use in the lead mines, and, a few years afterward, were in use wherever drills were needed. Whether this universal use of them was the result of Mr. Gilmore's invention I cannot say, but I know that up to that time the Cornish miners were unacquainted with cast-steel drills."

Numerons villages had now dotted the face of Grant County. Platteville, Hazel Green, Paris-soon to wither and die under the blight of a brooding presence-Fair Play, Potosi, Bee- town, Lancaster-just honored by being selected as the county seat-Cassville, Wingville and Muscoda, each had obtained a foothold on Mother Earth, and were boldly struggling for exist- ence. The towns Hazel Green, Potosi, Beetown and Fair Play, had included in their limits some of the most productive mines in the lead region. The lead mines were also so prolific in the production of zinc that Prof. Owen, in his report to the War Department, made in 1842, stated it as his opinion that the supply in the mines was sufficient to furnish all that was needed of this mineral in the United States, and to furnish a surplus for export. The flood- tide of the mining interests was the decade from 1839 to 1849 .; the estimated annual production during that time being 40,000,000 pounds, employing 3,000 men.

In the years 1844-45, a second wave of immigration swept in upon the county. Both residents and outsiders had begun to awake to the fact that Grant County afforded unequaled facilities for the agriculturist as well as the miner. The Herald, speaking in 1843 on this sub- ject, said: "Few are aware of the extent of arable land within the mining district, particularly that portion lying within the confines of Wisconsin. Abroad, this region is looked upon as adapted to mining only ; and the fact that it is positively unsurpassed in agricultural suscepti- bility by any State or any portion of any State in the Union, would be news to at least three- fourths of our own Territory." In 1845, the country between Lancaster and Fennimore received an addition of fifty families, who settled there during the spring of that year, and thirty- three emigrants arrived at Lancaster direct from Scotland. These were mostly mill operatives, and located at what was afterward known as the " Welsh Settlement." The settlement took its name from the leading spirit of the enterprise. Nor were other portions of the county allowed

MISCODA.

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HISTORY OF GRANT COUNTY.

to suffer ; immigrants came streaming in from every quarter, though even this large emigra- tion was soon swallowed up by the vastness of the county, and, like Oliver Twist of romantic memory, the cry of those most alive to the interests of the county was still for " more." It was in 1842 that the town of Sinipee, which had been started on the Mississippi, a few miles above Dunlieth, was abandoned, owing to the unhealthfulness of its location, and the houses moved during the winter, upon sleds, here, there and everywhere, while the spot that once knew it now was to remain forever desolate. But the demolition of this weaker brother only added the more to the strength of its near neighbors, again illustrating the ancient doctrine that "To him that hath shall be given." The estimation of the different pursuits of the inhabitants of Grant County in the year 1844, showed: Farmers, 600; miners, 600; mechanics, 150; smelters, 100; mer- chants, 60; millers, 32; tavern-keepers, 16; grocers, 15; lawyers, 17 ; physicians, 16. There were at that time in the county, 21 common schools, 9 churches, 30 stores, 16 public houses, 20 furnaces, 12 saw-mills, 4 grist-mills, 12 groceries, and 1 academy.

THE FIRST THRESHING MACHINE.

In this year, Mr. Vedder built for Mr. Thomas Shanley, upon his place near Lancaster, a stationary threshing machine-so far as can be learned, the first machine of this kind in use in the county. The old-fashioned mode of laying the grain in a large circle on the barn floor, and then tramping it out with horses or cattle, had, previous to this time, been the only method, together with that ancient instrument, the flail, for releasing the kernel from its protecting husk. The first reaper in the county was used on the farm of Mr. William Wright, in 1845. It was a strange and unknown instrument, even to those who were operating it; the man charged with the duty of "raking off," working like a Trojan to keep the machine entirely clear from grain, for fear "the d-d thing would get clogged." This fear, it may be inferred, was entirely done away with by a closer acquaintance.

In February, 1846, the last " Indian war " known to Grant County broke out at Muscoda, It was but a flickering flame and was extinguished almost as soon as ignited. Many of the Winnebagoes had continued to roam about the country instead of going upon their reservation. Some of the band at the above date were lingering in the neighbourhood of Muscoda. A quarrel was commenced between the whites in that vicinity and the savages, when one of the Indians fired, wounding one of the whites. This was a signal for donning the war-paint on both sides, ending in a tally of three dead Indians for the whites. The knowledge of the affray spread like wild-fire, and volunteers assembled from over the northern portion of the county to drive the savages beyond its precincts. The latter were amply satisfied to be allowed to with- draw in peace, and the war-cloud disappeared in thin vapor.

For a few years everything appeared favorable to a rapid and extended increase in the wealth and population of the county. Judge Colter, years later, referred to this early period as a time when " there was more honesty than now. People were not required to lock their doors; when they met at each other's cabins for social recreation, or to attend to business, they never met to quarrel ; but the whisky was better than now."

THE CALIFORNIA GOLD FEVER.

In 1849, the discovery of gold in California made the first break in the chain of fortuitous circumstances which was fast advancing the county to the front rank ; and for the succeeding three years this section had to wrestle with the alluring attractions of the distant gold-fields, as well as the demon cholera which made its appearancein 1850. This dread scourge broke out sud- denly in Beetown, in September, 1850, and in forty-eight hours ten or twelve deaths had occurred. In less than a week's time twenty corpses attested the measure of the affliction. The in- habitants fled in every direction. Forty-one deaths occurred in two weeks. The towns of Fenni- more and Wingville also suffered heavily, the latter town being evacuated by the inhabitants. A few cases had been noticed in the southern portion of the county, but it seemed not to rage with such virulence as in the other portions.

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HISTORY OF GRANT COUNTY.

Speaking of the settlements in the county, the Herald, of contemporaneous date, notices that " in the region west of Patch Grove, known as 'the timber,' no improvements worth the name were made previous to 1850; and in that year only thirty bushels of wheat were raised." This section, however took on a new life in after years. The problem that now arose before the minds of the people was the depopulation of the country by the California gold fever. The god, mammon, seemed to have laid his beguiling fingers on the bravest and best, and the good results which were just making their appearance as the consequence of the fostering care of years were blighted almost at a breath by this terrible excitement. -

It was estimated that at least two-thirds of the miners had left for the gold-fields, while of other classes the proportion was frightful to contemplate. The Herald of April 17, 1851, ex- pressed the opinion that the craze had run its course, but in the issue of the same paper of February 5, 1852, it says editorially : " By May next, Grant County will have disgorged more than a fourth of her adult population, and California, like the whale that swallowed Jonah, will have swallowed this entire animal export; we have lost none to migration to other parts ; all have gone to golden California. They were the bone and sinew of the country, and we parted with them as reluctantly as did King Pharaoh with the Children of Israel. In 1848 and 1849, the California fever commenced, and the end is in the misty future ; we dare not venture an opinion as to when the disease will abate. Grant County has invested $1,000,000 in the gold mines." Again : "It is difficult to fix the amount of depreciation in the value of real property as the result of this migration. To say that land has fallen one hundred per cent may be true or false ; that depends upon circumstances. We set down the average depreciation at one hun- dred per cent. In many cases two hundred per cent would be a closer estimate. Village property has slid lower than farm property." And a careful scrutiny of the events then tran- spiring and their effects show this to be no fancy sketch, but almost literally true. The rush in the spring of 1852 was so great that Chapman's ferry at Potosi was unable to accommodate the crowds that came, and the impatient emigrants had to wait four and five days before they could cross ; yet other ferries were equally blocked. In the exodus of this year were fifty persons with trains from Lancaster, a moderate number from Fennimore and Patch Grove, a few from Harri- son, and a large throng from Jamestown ; while Beetown, sorely afflicted with every plague, suffered more than any other place. This enormous rush is certainly in a great measure ac- counted for by the fact that the population of the county was at the time largely composed of miners, who were at first attracted by a prospect of "striking it rich ; " but even this does not account for this extraordinary depletion in population which the county experienced in these. ever-to-be-remembered years. The greed for gold seemed to have seized every one old enough to endure the privations and weariness of the six months' journey, and not until the disappointed victims began to return with their tale of wretched hopes and terrible sufferings did the fever abate its devastating work. The following are the rules and regulations adopted for the guidance of one of the many trains and will serve as an illustration of the times :

BY-LAWS AND RESOLUTIONS OF THE CASSVILLE AND BEETOWN EMIGRATING COMPANY TO CALIFORNIA. Adopted at Council Bluffs May 10, 1852.

SECTION 1. This Company shall be called the Cassville and Beetown Emigrating Company.

SEC. 2. The general organization shall be composed of divisions of not less than ten nor more than fifteen teams ; each division choosing its own officers, which shall consist of a Captain, a Committee of Two, and a Secretary, which said Committee shall only act in concert with the Captain when so required by a majority of the Company; and the said officers to be elected every Saturday night, at the call of the then existing Secretary, a majority of votes electing. It shall be the duty of each Captain to take a general supervision of his own company, and to act in concert with each other in inspecting the outfits before starting, and in selecting the most practicable routes, cross- ings of streams and camp grounds, and to give the orders for starting and stopping.

SEC. 3. It shall be the duty of each Secretary to keep a record of all the names of the individuals in his com- pany, also a list of every able-bodied male member liable to stand on guard, and to call the guard to duty each night according to their turn on the roll.

SEC. 4. Every male member of the company, over sixteen years of age, shall be liable to perform duty on guard, at night, when not disqualified by sickness.

Resolved, 1st. That we will not receive into our organization any company or person without a suitable outfit for the journey.

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Resolved, 2d. That we will observe the Christian Sabbath, and attend religious service whenever practicable. Resolved, 3d. That we will avoid open immorality of all kind, such as profane swearing, gambling and the use of intoxicating drinks as a beverage.

Resolved, 4th. That we will render mutual assistance to each member of the organization, in case of sickness or other misfortune ; and that we will respect the feelings and property of all, and on all occasions avoid giving offense by word or deed, and in any way acting contrary to the spirit and meaning of the foregoing by-laws and resolutions, for the faithful performance of all which we pledge our lives, our fortunes. and our sacred honor. Signed by Thirty-six Names.

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History of Grant County, Wisconsin, Part 73

Author: Butterfield, Consul Willshire, 1824-1899 Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Chicago : Western Historical Co. Number of Pages: 1044

Author: Butterfield, Consul Willshire, 1824-1899
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Chicago : Western Historical Co.
Number of Pages: 1044